He looks away from his phone that he took out while I was putting on my shoes. “Yup, it’s as casual as you can get.”
“I don’t even have makeup on,” I point out to him as I grab my purse, but he shakes his head. “No purse.”
“But I have like everything in this,” I tell him, picking up my purse and showing it to him. “All my IDs.”
“Just bring your ID,” he says, “and leave the rest here.”
“B-but,” I stutter, “what if I see something I want to buy?” Who is to say I won’t find a pair of shoes that I can’t live without or that I might see a nice scarf.
“Then I’ll buy it, and you can pay me back.” He holds out his hand, waiting for me to fish out my ID. “I’ll put your ID in my wallet.” I huff, getting my wallet out and handing over my ID and my black AmEx card, but he hands it back to me.
I hold the card in my hand, and I might have pouted. “But.” He just shakes his head as he slides my ID in his wallet with his. He tucks his wallet into his back pocket, then grabs his own leather jacket and slips it on. Picking up his aviators, he slides them on, and I have to say he looks like he just got off the runway. How he isn’t a model, I have no idea.
He holds his hand out to me. “Let’s see what Chicago has to offer, Kellie.” His voice comes out smooth. I look up and can’t see his eyes, but I see the side smirk and place my hand in his while my own smile fills my face.
Chapter Sixteen
Brian
I’m going to make sure she sees everything in Chicago she wants to see. When she started watching Shameless, I got an idea to take her around Chicago, and I was going to run it by Cori, but when she pulled out and took another bus, leaving just the two of us, I knew I had the perfect time to do things.
“Let’s see what Chicago has to offer, Kellie.” I look at her, and a smile fills her face. Whatever happens, I want to make sure she can be just plain old Kellie today. I hold my hand out for her, and she places her hand in mine. The smoothness of her soft, delicate hand fits perfectly in mine. I pull her toward the door and walk to the elevator with our hands linked together. I press the elevator button down, the button lighting up, and my eyes go to our hands still together. I should let her hand go, but instead, I hold it a touch tighter, hoping she doesn’t notice, and when the elevator gets here, we walk in. A couple of people come into the elevator, all saying good morning, but no one recognizes her.
When we walk out of the lobby, the light wind hits us right away, and I turn left, going to our first stop. We walk down the street till we get to the light. “So tell me, what is one thing you have always wanted to see in Chicago that you haven’t?” We stand at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change.
“A blues club.” She answers right away without even thinking about it. Just bam, out with it. “The smoky kind that they had back in the seventies.”
I throw my head back and laugh at her. “So not what I was expecting you to say.”
“Really?” She lets out a carefree laugh, and we walk across the street with the other pedestrians as we make our way to our first stop. “I mean, what is Chicago best known for?” I look at her as we walk side by side, facing the wind blowing at us, her long hair flowing back in the wind. “Wait a sec,” she says. Stopping, she lets go of my hand and reaches inside her jacket pocket. She takes out her sunglasses and puts them on. “That’s better,” she says, turning back. I’m not expecting her to grab my hand, but she does, and we continue walking down the street. “So a smoky blues club, sitting down and just letting the music flow through you.”
“Okay,” I tell her, thinking in my head where I could take her. There are two places off the top of my head I could possible swing.
“What about you?” she asks, looking over at me. “What is one thing you want to see in Chicago?”
“You smile.” The words come out before I can hold it back. They came out before I could stop them. But between the wind in her hair and her hand in mine, I just couldn’t stop it. She stops walking in the middle of the sidewalk, causing people to have to walk around us. “I mean …” I start saying, and I can’t see her eyes. I only see my reflection in her glasses. “What I meant was I want you to experience it without the other half of your life.”
She tilts her head to the side, and I wonder if maybe I should just stop talking. “I mean, I don’t want you to have a worry in the world today. I want you to be able to walk where you want to walk and do what you want to do.”
“I want that, too,” she says softly, and I look around as people look at us.
“We need to start walking, or people are going to recognize you,” I tell her, hopeful that it changes the way this is going. She doesn’t say much; she just turns, and we walk down the street, pointing out different things to each other. She shows me the store where she spent seven hours being fitted for a gown for the Oscars. “See that window over there?” I point at the highest window in the building in the corner. “I once was with a certain Hollywood Prince, and he spent four days on a sexcapade.”
She stops walking and throws her head back and laughs. “Define sexcapade,” she asks, then continues to walk.
“It means four days of sex every hour. We made bets to see if his dick would chafe.” I tell her as much as I can without giving anything away.
“I actually think I know who you are talking about.” She laughs, and I look over, loving how carefree she seems, without a care in the world. She is just Kellie. “Is it …?”
I shake my head to stop her from talking. “Even if you guess, I won’t tell you if you are right or wrong.” I make her turn to the right, and we walk up a couple of stairs, and she finally sees where our first stop is.
“Oh my gosh,” she says with a squeal. “Is this really it?” she asks me, dropping my hand and then running toward the round silver bean. She turns around, smiling. “Brian, it’s the bean.”
Walking to her, I take my phone out and snap a couple of pictures of her twirling in front of it, the smile never leaving her face. We walk underneath the silver bean and see that it gets you from every angle. “Look, it’s us everywhere,” Kellie says, pointing up, and I see she is right. “Give me your phone.” I hand her my phone, and she moves to stand in front of me with her back to me. She places the phone above us, taking a picture, but you see us bouncing off every side of the bean. “Look, it’s like we are never ending.”
“It’s pretty cool,” I say while she walks to the bean. Putting her hand on it, she takes a picture of it. I look around to make sure no one has caught on to who she is. The other tourists are too busy taking pictures of themselves to notice us. We walk back out of the bean, and she stops, facing it. “What’s the matter?”
“We need a selfie,” she says, and I walk back to her. She hands me my phone. “You have longer arms.” She wraps her arms around my waist as I hold the phone up and take a picture of us. My arm goes around her shoulder, tucking her into me, and we smile for the camera. I look at the picture after, and I know that it’s a picture I’ll keep forever. “So where to next?” She looks over and asks me, and I just smile.
“Time to take the L train.” I smile at her, tucking the phone back in my pocket. We walk side by side, our hands brushing against each other’s, and she finally links her hand in mine, and I let her. We walk to the tracks and up the stairs. I pay for our tokens, and we stand by, waiting for the next L train to come.
“I’ve never been on the train before.” She looks up at me. “I’ve been on the bus once in Nashville before I got noticed.”
I reach up with my free hand and push her hair away from her face. “Prepared to be wowed.” I smile at her smile. “Nothing says welcome to Chicago like riding the L.”
I hear the train approaching, and I tug her a bit closer to me just to make sure she is safe. The train comes to a stop, and we walk in at the same time as other people walk out. “Over there.” I point at the two empty seats in the back, and she slips inside, sitting by the window
, and I slide in next to her.
“It’s, um, an acquired smell,” she says to me, and I laugh. I hear the beeping and then the doors to the train close, and the man comes over the speaker, telling us about our next stop. As we ride through the city, she points at things. When it’s finally time for our stop, I get up and hold out my hand to her, and she takes it. We step out of the train and then walk down the steps. “That was so much fun,” she says, and I have to smile at a girl who thinks riding the public transportation system is losing her mind. “I think once the tour is over, I’m going to head to a beach and then tour cities on the down-low.”
“What do you mean?” I ask her, and she walks next to me, turning her head and looking at me.
“For one whole week, I want to be on a beach with my feet in the sand and do nothing. Not one single thing.”
“Any beach or a specific one?” I make sure we are going the right way.
“As long as my feet are buried in the sand, it could be anywhere,” she says with a smile.
I guide her toward the houses, and she looks around. I’m waiting for her to notice where we are. Her mouth drops open. “Holy shit,” she says, putting her hands in front of her mouth. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Well, that depends.” I put my hands in my pockets, and she holds onto my elbow. “What do you think that is?”
“It’s the Gallagher house from Shameless!” she shrieks when we step in front of it. The shades on the inside are closed. “Do you think we can go in?” She walks toward the chain-link fence in the front of the property. The red no trespassing sign and the lock on the fence show you that you cannot go in. “I think I could call someone.”
I shake my head and try to hide my laughter. “Who are you going to call, baby?” Her eyes fly to mine as baby slips out again.
“I’m going to call Warner Brothers,” she says matter-of-factly, folding her arms over her chest. “I know people.”
“I’m sure you do, but for now, we just get to take a picture of you in front of the house,” I tell her, and she looks to the side.
“Is that Vi and Kevin’s house?” She points at the house right next door with another chain-link fence and no trespassing sign. “This is bullshit. They should have tours and stuff.”
“You know that they don’t film in the house, right?” I tell her, and she looks at me almost as though she’s in shock. “It’s filmed in LA.”
“You ruin everything, Brian,” she growls and tries to push me. “Don’t tell me this.”
“You know how it is in Hollywood.” I grab her hand, and we continue walking down the street. “Now, let’s go and see if we can find the Alibi.”
We walk down a couple of streets and then finally spot a hole in the wall. I open the door, and the smell of beer hits me right away. Stepping in, I see that it’s not the Alibi, not even close. The bar sits to the left-hand side, but the man behind it is not exactly Kevin. He is short and balding. In front of him are barstools that look like they were made in the sixties along with the décor of the bar. In front of the bar are five high tables with four wooden stools each. In the far back is a pool table with a lamp hanging over the middle of it, but the lamp is missing two bulbs.
“We start serving in ten minutes,” he says, looking over at us. I look at my watch and see that it’s almost six. “You can sit and wait if you want.”
“What do you want to do?” I ask her, not sure this is a good idea. “We can maybe grab a couple of beers at the hotel.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to go back yet.” She walks into the bar and grabs a barstool and sits on it.
“Whatcha want, sweetheart?” he asks her, and I look at him, then at my watch, and he just shrugs. “She’s a pretty face. Gotta keep those happy.”
I shake my head and sit next to her on the stool. “What is the house specialty?” she asks, and the bartender throws his head back and laughs.
“Sweetheart, the most expensive thing we have is the bottle of vodka,” he says to her, and then he looks at me. “You need to take your woman to a nicer place.”
“She’s not my woman,” I say at the same time as Kellie laughs and says, “I’m not his woman.” His eyebrows shoot up.
“Then this just became my best day ever.” He turns and walks to grab a bottle on the counter in the back and comes back with two shot glasses. He pours the clear liquid in each glass and then picks up his glass and motions to Kellie to pick up hers.
“What is that?” I ask, blocking her hand from going to her mouth.
“Moonshine.” He smiles at me, and the door opens, and two other people walk in. “Made it myself.”
“Are you going to let me drink?” she asks me with a twinkle in her eye.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I tell her honestly and then she leans in, her mouth going to my ear.
“I’m safe if you’re here,” she whispers, and I’m stuck with the smell of her and the way she smiles at me. I’m stuck in her beauty, and I’m stuck wishing that, at this moment, I can just let go with her.
Chapter Seventeen
Kellie
“I’m safe if you’re here,” I whisper in his ear, and it’s like I’m already drunk on him. This whole day has been hands down the best day ever. I walked around a city just being me. I walked around and explored and was just regular old Kellie today. And it was fantastic. I look at the bartender and take the shot, swallowing before I can even think about it. The burn kills me, and I start coughing. The bartender walks away and comes back with a glass of water.
“There you are, sweet cheeks,” he says, and I take a couple of sips, but it literally still tastes like fire down my throat.
I look at Brian who just looks at me. “Why would you let me do that?” I hiss out, drinking more water. “Why?”
He shakes his head. He’s too good looking for his own good. “I tried to stop you, but …”
I get in his face, and I hear him suck in a breath. “No, you didn’t.” I’m so close to him that if I lean in, I could kiss him. My lips would finally feel his. “You didn’t,” I whisper, and I don’t know how much time passes. I don’t know if it’s the heat from the liquor. But I whisper the next part. “Kiss me.” My heart beats in my chest, my hands are clammy, and I just want him to lean in a touch and take my lips.
His eyes cloud over. “Kellie,” he whispers, “I can’t.” Two words that I never thought would hurt as much as they do. I blink my eyes twice and then move away from him, but he grabs my hand. I pull it away from him. “Baby.” My heart beats faster, and I’m wondering if it’s because it’s sad.
“No,” I say, shaking my head, trying to blink away the tears. I’m angry he won’t kiss me; angry I’m literally throwing myself at him, and he wants nothing to do with me. I turn on the actress inside me and twist to face him with a huge smile on my face. “Don’t worry about it, Brian. It was the alcohol talking.”
He tries to reach out for me, but his phone rings in his pocket. When he sees it’s Cori, he hands it to me. “This is for you.”
“Hello,” I say into the phone, trying not to let my voice crack or for her to know something is bothering me.
“Hello, yourself,” she says. “Where are you? We just got to the hotel.”
“I am sitting in a bar that is not the Alibi.” I try to make a joke out of it. “Brian took me around Chicago all day.”
“Really?” she says with a snicker. “That’s interesting.”
“Listen, we are on our way back now,” I tell her. “They messed up our room. Can you see if you can have them fix it?”
“What’s wrong with the room?” she asks me, and then I see Brian get up and settle the tab with the bartender.
“There is only one bed and a pull-out couch,” I tell her, and she shrieks.
“Did you share a bed with Brian?”
“Negative,” I say to her and then smile and shake my head when the bartender asks if I want another shot. “But see if th
ey have either a two-room suite or an adjoining room if anything.”
“I’m on it,” she says. “You sound different.”
“I just had a shot of moonshine,” I tell her, then whisper, “I think it was just gasoline.” She laughs into the phone. “Can you also see if maybe they have a massage therapist who can come up and work on my back?”
“I’m on it,” she says. “Do you want a couple’s massage or just one?”
“Just the one,” I tell her, and then I click end. “They are at the hotel, so we should start heading back.” I hand him back his phone.
“Let’s see if we can grab a cab. It might be faster,” he says, getting up. “Thank you.”
The bartender looks up at us and waves. We walk out into the night, and I make sure to hold my hands in front of me and not give him anything. I watch him walk to the curb and flag down a cab. “Good job, Brian,” I say, getting into the cab when he holds the door open for me. He gets in after me and gives the driver our address. I look outside when Brian’s phone dings.
“She got us another room. They are moving us to a one-bedroom suite, then putting in a queen bed for me.”
“How many bathrooms?” I ask him, never taking my eyes away from outside.
“You don’t like sharing a bathroom with me?” he jokes, and I just shrug.
“Two,” he says, and we finally pull up in front of the hotel. He pays the driver, and I get out and then look back at him. “Same floor.”
I turn and walk into the lobby with him at my back, so very different from how we left. When we get on our floor, Cori is there waiting for us. “Welcome home, guys.”
I smile at her and walk into her outstretched arms. “I’m starving.”
“I can order something in,” she says to me, and I just nod. “I need a bubble bath and a nice relaxing night watching movies.”
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